Cupola furnace with lining and blocks therefor



W. E. DOLE Dec. 20, 1955 CUPOLA FURNACE WITH LINING AND BLOCKS THEREFOR Filed Aug. 23, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

William E. Dole BY M @pM A TTORNE Y5.

W. E. DOLE Dec; 20, 1955 CUPOLA FURNACE WITH LINING AND BLOCKS THEREFOR 5 Sheets-Shea. 2

Filed Aug. 23, 1952 INVENTOR. William E. Dole TTORNEYS.

Dec. 20, 1955 w. E. DOLE 2,727,737

CUPOLA FURNACE WITH LINING AND BLOCKS THEREFOR Filed Aug. 25, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. William E. Dole ATTORNEYS United States PatentO CUPOLA FURNACE WITH LINING AND BLOCKS THEREFGIR 1 My invention relates to a cupola furnace with lining and blocks therefor. 'It has to do, more particularly, with a refractory block which is especially designed for lining a cupola.

At the present time, it is customary to line the cylindrical metal shell of a cupola with blocks which have their entire outer-edges in direct contact with the metal shell. With this arrangement, -the'bloc'ks burn out quickly to an extent which causes hot spots to develop in the cupola shell, in fact, such hot spots usually develop .even when there is still a thickness of approximatelythree inches remaining 'intheblocks. Another disadvantage of this arrangement is that the blast is supplied directly through the liner at the desired level and is not preheated.

I propose to provide a refractory block which is so formed that when the cupola is lined with a series of these blocks, there will be a space provided between the liner and the cupola shell. This space will serve as an insulating space between the liner and the shell which will prevent development of hot spots between the liner and the shell even after the blocks wear very thin, for example, down to a thickness of even one inch. This space will not only prevent excessive heating of the shell but will also tend to keep the blocks cooler and delay deterioration thereof. The space between the liner and the shell also provides a space into which the blast can first be directed and in which it will travel through a selected distance so that it will be preheated before finally entering the melting chamber.

To provide the insulating space, each block is formed with a projection on its outer edge which is of considerably less area than the area of such edge of the block. This projection is provided with cooling fins which aid in dissipating the heat that would tend to be conducted through the small projection into the cupola shell. In addition, the upper surface of the block is provided with buttons which prevent settling of the blocks at the mortar joints and will aid in preventing relative lateral displacement of courses of blocks when the molten iron presses thereagainst.

My block is so designed that it can be manufactured by standard methods and with standard machines at substantially the same cost as standard blocks.

The preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a block made according to my invention.

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the block.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view showing a cupola lined with blocks made according to my invention.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a detail in vertical section illustrating the 2,727,737 Patented Dec. 20, 195.5

function of the buttons provided on the upper surface of each block.

Figure 7 he schematic view illustrat ng the extrusion of a column of clay for use in forming my blocks.

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view illustrating a repress mold which .is used in forming myblocks.

With reference .to the drawings, in Figures 1, 2 and 3 I have illustrated in detail a block-made according to my invention. This block is formed of suitable refractory material and is of segmental form so that it will conform to the contour of a :circular cupola which it is designed to 'line. Therefore, the block 10.-isprovided with an inner concavely curved edge 11, an outer convexly curved edge 12 and the angled ends Hand '14 which converge towards the edge 12. The block is also provided with the upper flat surface 15 and the lower flat surface 16.

On the outer edge 12 .of the block I provide a spacing projection 17. The upper edge ofthis P ojection 17 is flush with the top surface 15 of the block. The outer surface or edge .18 is parallel with the main outer edge 12 of the block. The ends 19 and 20 of the projection 18 are spaced asubstantial-distance-from the respective ends 13 and 14 of the block. The lower edge 21 is spaced a substantial distance above the lower surface 16 of the block. This surface 21 isprovided witha j-plurality of longitudinally extending cooling Thus, the .projection 17 is very small in longitudinal cross-section as compared to that of the body of the block.

The top surface 15 of the block is provided with a plurality of buttons 23 formed thereon. These buttons may be arranged in rows as indicated or in any other suitable manner.

As indicated in Figures 4 and 5, the cupola shell S is lined with a series of the blocks 10. These blocks are laid-up in staggered course in the usual way. The mortar or clay M (Figure 6) is disposed in the joints in the usual manner but the buttons 23 in the horizontal joints will prevent one course from settling to an undesirable extent on the next lower course and prevent lateral displacement of courses. The outer surfaces 18 of projections 17 will contact the inner surface of the shell S and conform to the curvature thereof. The projections 17 will serve to provide an insulating space I between the bodies of the blocks 10 and the shell S. This space will not only serve as an insulating space but will also provide a space into which the blast may be directed for preheating. For example, the blast may be directed into the space through an opening 24 in the cupola shell at a high level and will be caused to travel downwardly and around the liner until it finally enters the melting chamber through the blast inlet 25 at a lower level. Thus, the blast will not only aid in keeping the blocks 10 cooler but will be preheated itself by the'heat it absorbs from the blocks, the fins 21 on the projections 17 aiding in this heat absorption and in the cooling of the blocks. With this arrangement, the blocks can wear or burn very thin before they need to be replaced since the projections 17 contacting with the shell S will give substantial strength to even thin sections of blocks and the space between the blocks 10 and the shell S will delay development of hot spots in the shell.

My block can be manufactured by standard methods and machinery as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8. A plurality of these parts may be formed from a column C of clay extruded as shown in Figure 7. The column will be of suitable rectangular cross section and will be cut into mold charges of proper thicknesses each having the proper cubical content to form the blocks. Then, each charge will be placed in a repress mold R of the type shown in Figure 8 where it will be repressed to final form. This repress mold will have the plunger P with the buttonforming recesses B, the bottom plate L which will form the lower surface'16 of the main part of the block and the plate M which will form the projection 17 on the block.

It will be apparent from the above description that I have provided a block which is especially useful in lining cupola shells. This block will function very effectively, as indicated above, in the cupola. Furthermore, it can be manufactured at a relatively low cost by the usual methods.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. A refractory block for lining a cupola comprising an integral body having upper and lower faces, side faces, and inner and outer faces, and an integral projection of less cross-sectional area than the body projecting from the outer face thereof the upper surface of said projection being flush with and a continuation of the upper face of said body, and the side surfaces and lower surface of the projection being spaced inwardly from the respective edges of the outer face of the body upon which the projection is formed.

2. A block according to claim 1 wherein the lower surface of the projection is provided with cooling fins.

3. A block according to claim 2 wherein the upper and lower faces of the block are flat and the upper face is provided with integral spaced buttons formed thereon.

4. In combination with the shell of a cupola, a liner formed of refractory blocks, each block comprising an integral body having upper and lower faces, side faces, and inner and outer faces and an integral projection of less cross-sectional area than the body projecting from the outer face thereof, the upper surface of said projection being flush with and a continuation of the upper face of said body, and the side surfaces and lower surface of the projection being spaced inwardly from the respective edges of the outer face of the body upon which the projection is formed the blocks being so disposed that the projections thereof contact the shell so that an insulating space will be formed between the bodies of the blocks and the shell and will include vertical and horizontal passageways.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein the lower surface of the projection is provided with cooling fins.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the upper and lower faces of each block are fiat and the upper face is provided with integral spaced buttons formed thereon which aid in preventing relative'lateral and vertical displacement of adjacent superimposed blocks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 721,417 Berg Feb. 24, 1903 991,805 Selden May 9, 1911 1,058,674 Kertes Apr. 8, 1913 1,279,446 Ross Sept. 17, 1918 1,696,812 Nygaard et a1 Dec. 25, 1928 2,230,142 Longacre Jan. 28, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTSv 125,333 Germany Nov. 18, 1901 257,261 Great Britain of 1927 

